The Brain from Planet Arous
“Memorable” is the word for Nathan Juran’s inadvertently surreal science fiction film from 1957—”ridiculous” comes to mind too: it’s a movie so preposterous the director took cover behind a pseudonym. John Agar plays a wide-eyed scientist whose eyes only get wider when he’s possessed by an airborne brain named Gor. The balloon-like creature has plans for world domination and only Vol, Gor’s bouncy, benevolent twin, can save us. It may be preposterous but it makes for a great Saturday matinee.
About Michael Schlesinger
Michael Schlesinger was widely acknowledged as the dean of classic film distributors, having worked for more than 25 years at MGM, Paramount and Sony, keeping hundreds of vintage movies in theatrical release (and later DVD), and instigating the restoration of many more, including the completion of Orson Welles' 1942 documentary It's All True some 50 years later. Behind the camera, he wrote and produced the American version of Godzilla 2000, co-produced such Larry Blamire parodies as The Lost Skeleton Returns Again and Dark and Stormy Night, and has written, produced and directed several short films featuring the faux-1930s comedy team of Biffle and Shooster. No power on Earth would have ever convinced him that It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World was not the Greatest. Movie. Ever. Sadly, Michael passed away on the morning of January 9, 2025.